1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to resin-oil shale composite reaction products or resin-oil shale organic components composite reaction products and to a process for forming the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Oil shales are typically fine-grain rocks resulting from the consolidation of mud, clay or silt, typically containing on the order of 20 to 50 gallons/ton or more of an organic, oil-yielding material called kerogen. Large oil shale deposits are found in the United States in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Texas. Kerogen is wax-like in nature, is characterized by low solubility in hydrocarbon solvents and typically will not flow unless heated to above 400.degree. F. A typical sample of Green River shale from Colorado has the following composition: kerogen 21.6%, dolomite and calcite 38.4%, analcite 17.1% and quartz 12.1%.
Whenever the term "oil shale" is used herein, it is to be understood that this term is intended to include all kerogen containing rocks, regardless of their common or scientific designation.
The kerogen of oil shales is not an oil, such as petroleum, nor is it a semi-solid such as bitumen or asphalt. It does, however, yield a mixture of hydrocarbons and certain nitrogen and phenolic compounds, usually called "shale oil", upon pyrolytic conversion.
Kerogen may be separated from oil shale by various procedures as described in, e.g., co-pending U.S. Application Ser. No. 191,061 Howard Sibley, and by various procedures as described in the DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART therein, which co-pending U.S. Application is hereby incorporated by reference. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,474 Anthony et al. which discloses a solvent process for partially extracting kerogen from oil shale without destructive distillation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,593 Marx et al. discloses molded articles produced from a mixture of oil shale and solid olefin polymer while U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,175 Marx et al. relates to the manufacture of the same type of molded articles but including only spent oil shale. Neither of these patents suggests in any fashion a reaction between the organic constituents of oil shale or kerogen and a resin nor do they contemplate the use of a curing agent as per the present invention. Rather, both of these patents merely contemplate the use of oil shale as an inert filler. Per the present invention, of course, all organic constituents of oil shale (including kerogen) are highly reactive components which interact with a reactive resin or resin precursor, typically in the presence of a curing agent, to form a composite product.